Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell (1981)

When an English barrister is accused of murder in Italy, an investigation is conducted from London by her colleagues, five members of the English Bar, under the supervision of a scholar of international repute.

Book review:  Thus Was Adonis Murdered, the first in Sarah Caudwell's Professor Hilary Tamar series, is a mystery story, simultaneously entertaining, humorous, lawyerly, and very English. A humorous version of the British "cozy" mystery. It's also largely narrated (by the indeterminate scholar of international repute) in an elevated tone and syntax that typically ends with a punch line, to wit: "Indeed, it is a benevolent dispensation of Providence that those who express most dread of an unorthodox advance are usually those whom Nature has most effectively protected from any risk of one." Deciphering such lines may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's all part of the fun in Thus Was Adonis Murdered along with Oxford-Cambridge rivalry ("By whom ... or, to adopt the Cambridge idiom, who by?"), legal jargon, and the intriguing barristers (Julia, Selena, Cantrip, Ragwort, Timothy, and Professor Tamar) we get to know along the way. The story, told long distance, is detailed through letters (whatever those are), telephone calls, the occasional investigative foray, and periodic lunches or dinners, always with wine. And yes, there is an Adonis, who has captured Julia's eye, which has caused her to be accused of murder. Sarah Caudwell is an enjoyable writer, the mystery is worthy, and if the above description is up your alley, then Thus Was Adonis Murdered is your book. [4 Stars]